Singapore prides itself in being a nation that has
managed to achieve cultural harmony, and rightfully so. Our society’s food,
language, and activities are all results of cultures mixing. However, I believe
that Singapore’s society is still learning what it means to have cultural understanding
of each other. What we have now is cultural tolerance and selective cultural
harmony. My current perception of Singapore’s society is that people of
different cultures are living geographically together, but perhaps socially separate
lives. Certain elements of a culture that appeal to us are shared, a prime
example being food. However, we tend to avoid issues that are disagreed upon,
sometimes to the extent of us becoming indifferent or ignorant about it.
Understanding another culture goes beyond pictures and
hearsay. It is a genuine effort to accept something that may be a stark contrast
to what one is familiar with. This requires one to spend time with people from
that culture, and realize that one’s culture is not the absolute, sole method
to live. For example, the Bangladeshi construction workers, who currently construct
our university’s new buildings, are people that we see everyday. However, I did
not know much about them, apart from the stereotypes; such as them being less
wealthy, uneducated, and even a potential nuisance to society. It was only
until 2013’s haze period, did I notice that these were the only few people
still working hard in the bad weather. This compelled a few friends and I to go to the construction sites and hand out free drinks to them.
There is always a strong fear of the unknown. What
language do they speak? How should I greet them? Will they think I am weird?
These are some of the questions we fretted over while preparing to go to
the sites. It took much courage for us to start conversations, but once we did,
we realized that they are not that different from any of us. We may have
different practices and beliefs, but at the very core, all of us are humans.
One of the most impressionable culture differences was
that males do not sit beside females, unless they are married. We discovered it
when a female friend unknowingly sat beside a male worker to converse. Instead
of judging or scolding, the worker politely stood up and moved while explaining
the situation. This is how I envision society should accept and understand
other cultures; not just through educational media, but through sensitive
communication and graciousness for one another.
Excellent post Samuel- truly an eye-opener- not just because of the real life experience but also because of the lesson learnt.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for the courageous and admirable first step that you took with your friends, Samuel. Indeed, we tend to follow the mainstream opinion of certain cultures, and, more often that not, we form wrong impressions of them. Sometimes all it takes is for us to personally immerse fully into the culture. Talking to native people of the culture is the most direct and simple way to do that.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that culture is a set of beliefs and ideas that people adopt, and that beneath it we all essentially are the same. We fight for the same fundamentals. Once we truly realize this, perhaps graciousness and basic courtesy would then be a commodity that reflects the growing maturity of society.
Thank you Mdm Radhika and JJ.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am still discovering the concept of cultures in Singapore, and it is my wish that Singapore society's communication would be able to progress beyond culture. It is definitely difficult, especially with the differences that must exist between cultures. However, as JJ said, for a society to mature, it needs to accept people based on ideals, rather than on their race or activities.